male vocal mic- help!

[fuzzface777]

I have known about the neuman 87a, and the manely reference, and the akg c12.

I might be able to afford the 87 now, but manley NO! and the c12 I think in between the two price but it still might be too high.

What other mics are killer for tenor , alto male vocals? Are there any other AKG slightly cheaper mics model that are still excellent or only the c12?

[Trebor Flow]

If you can find a second hand BLUE Bottle with the B6 capsule, go for that, on male tenor (my voice is a high male tenor) it gives the most fantastic sound, just incredibily detailed and present. It is a wonderful mic and well worth waiting and saving for second hand.

Trebor

PS I can post a wav. if you like

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by fuzzface777

I might be able to afford the 87 now, but manley NO! and the c12 I think in between the two price but it still might be too high.

Just speaking for me, personally, I have never been crazy about the U87, even though it is the most famous Neumann and is good on lots of instruments, including voice. The U87 is not a tube mic like the Manley Reference and the AKG C12 VR. If you can afford a U87 then you can afford the Manley Reference Cardioid (assuming you only need one pattern). They are both around $2700 USD. The AKG C12 VR is about $5000 USD, much more expensive.

Originally Posted by fuzzface777

What other mics are killer for tenor , alto male vocals? Are there any other AKG slightly cheaper mics model that are still excellent or only the c12?

I agree with the previous poster about the BLUE Bottle; it's a fantastic microphone but it costs $4400 USD new, however, you may be able to find one second-hand. I like the BLUE Cactus; it's a tube mic and while not as open-sounding as the Bottle (it can be a little dark IMO) it is a good deal at $2500 USD. Another one to consider is the Neumann M147 if you can deal with Cardioid-only. It retails for $2300 USD.

Other than those, I love the Lawson L47MP MKII and the Soundelux U99 for my vocals, and I am a tenor.

A note on the C12: the C12 has been reissued as the C12 VR. Many people feel that the reissue is not faithful to the original C12's sound and I haven't heard of anyone really swooning over this microphone. I would forget the C12 VR and get something else, JMO.

Hope this helps! There are many great mics, you should audition as many as you can because finding the mic that is right for your voice is a wonderful thing!

J.D.

[fuzzface777]

Have you guys tried the manley? IS a cardiod mic different than a condensor?
You really feel the tm147 neuman in better than the u87a? Anyone else have other similar findings?

The bottle by blue is VERY PRICY! WOW!

BLUE has a wide range, how do the cheaper models of BLUE sound? Ebay has a baby blue on right now....

Does anyone use soundleux or lawson? How you feel it compares to a manley, u87a?? What other soundelux or lawson models are awesome?

[Thumper]

get an Audio Technica 4060 and call it a day. It's an amazing microphone, no matter what the budget is.

I'd use it for vocals over a u87 any day of the week. Except for rappers. But you said tenor voice. Rappers usually don't consider themselves tenors...

AT 4060. About $1k stateside.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by fuzzface777

................
IS a cardiod mic different than a condensor?

The term "cardioid" refers to the polar pattern of the microphone. A cardioid pattern picks up sound from the front and less from the sides. A supercardioid pattern picks up an even narrower range in the front of the microphone. There are other patterns, omni (omnidirectional) and figure-8; you can probably guess how these mics pick up their signals.... So the Manley Reference Cardioid is a condenser and a cardioid-only microphone. It wont operate in omni mode, figure-8, in-between and etc, etc....

Originally Posted by fuzzface777

Does anyone use soundleux or lawson? How you feel it compares to a manley, u87a?? What other soundelux or lawson models are awesome?

The Soundelux mics are well built with the possible exception of the iFet7, which has fallen apart on people occasionally (at least so I have heard from their accounts).

I love the Soundelux U99. It emulates a vintage U67. And though I have never used one, the Soundelux Elux 251 "sounds great on 80% of the vocalists I try it on" according to Lynn Fuston.

The Lawson mics are all awesome, esp the L47MP MKII. At $2k it's a steal.


But at the end of the day, the previous poster may have given you the best advice. Go for a AT4060... they are worth the price of admission, which is very reasonable considering the mic's quality.

Hope this helps.... these are all great mics (I would own one of all of them if I could).

Cheers,

J.D.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by fuzzface777

Are there any other AKG slightly cheaper mics model that are still excellent or only the c12?

For $1000.00 USD you can get an AKG C414B XLII. This mic uses the capsule from the legendary C12. It's a good vocal mic and sounds good on overheads IMHO.

[tmcconnell]

I have a 414 TLII on loan (T is for transformerless) that has the c12 capsule, and I think its fairly brash on a lot of things - particularly overheads. I would use it in cases where I wanted to add edge, or a fuffly source that needs a little tightening. The pattern, pad, and rolloff are great - and make that mic into a sort of problem solver.

I also have a retubed Peluso 251 - which sports a capsule similar to the c12 (according only to the family tree of German mics - whether the peluso is similar in any way, in fact, is unknown to me). The C12vr, which is panned by many, can turn out an absolutely amazing vocal track with the right singer and pre. The TLII might be the best sounding Tom Mic I ever used. These mics are a little on the bright side. I put a new tube in the 251 that brings out the 1khz range better, and slightly smooths the 10k area - so it makes the peluso a lot more usable (a bit less scooped). t